Magnetic switch



Dec. 30. 1969 GARDEL ETAL MAGNETIC SWITCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 24, 1967 F|G.l

NVENTORS ATTORNEYS Dec. 30, 1969 GARDEL ETAL 3,487,346

MAGNETIC SWITCH Filed April 24, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United states: Patent 3,487,346 MAGNETIC SWITCH Robert Gardel, New York, and Egon Gorsky, Brooklyn,

N.Y., assignors to Lettam, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 633,266 Int. Cl. H0111 9/54 US. Cl. 335-205 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE FIELD OF INVENTION Battery powered motors are used in many kinds of toys and the use of such motors in dolls and comparable figures is becoming increasingly prevalent. In practically all instances some kind of switch is provided, to start and stop the motor, the types of switches including finger-actuated sliding switches, gravity switches and switches actuated by a separate implement of some sort. An example of the last type is shown in Gardel and Gorsky Patent No. 3,136,089, June 9, 1964, wherein a switch in the doll's mouth is normally closed, causing the crying mechanism to operate, but is moved to open position when a projection on the end of a simulated milk bottle is pushed into the month. However, any opening in a doll body or head presents a temptation to some children to insert substances which might be undesirable or even capable of ruining the internal mechanism. One object of the present invention is to provide a switch which can be used in any part of a toy figure such as a doll, and which requires no opening through the body or head wall.

SUMMARY The invention comprises a switch having fixed and movable elements, the movable element being formed at least in part of a permanent magnet, disposed with or without regard to polarity, and located close enough to the outer surface of the figure to be influenced by being brought near a mass of ferromagnetic material, while being completely enclosed within the figure. In a typical installation, the proximity of such a mass causes the magnet to close the circuit in which the switch is located and thus activate a motor or the like.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 represents an axial section through a switch unit, parts being in elevation;

FIG. 2 represents a plan view of the switch unit, viewed from the top of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 represents an axial section through a modified form of switch unit.

Referring to the drawings, the switch unit is shown as comprising an outer shell 1 having an upper (with reference to its position in FIG. 1) cylindrical portion 2 and a frusto-conical portion 3, the latter being bounded downwardly by a flat base surface 4 and having an annular groove 5 in its side surface near the base. The cylindrical portion 2 is traversed axially by a cylindrical cavity having an outer part 6 the diameter of which is larger than that of the inner part 7. the said parts being defined by the annular shoulder 8. The frusto-conical portion 3 is partially traversed axially by a cylindrical cavity 9, the diameter of which is less than that of the part 7 to permit the provision of a second annular shoulder 10, the cavity 9 being closed at the bottom.

The electrical parts contained within the shell 1 include a circular disc 11 of non-conductive material having a diameter slightly less than that of the part 7 and greater than that of the cavity 9, so that the disc can rest peripherally on the shoulder 10. The disc 11 carries a pair of terminals 12, diametrically disposed on opposite sides of a central bore through which passes a plunger 13, freely slidable in the bore. Each terminal 12 is connected by a wire 14 in the circuit (not shown) of the motor (or the like) to be controlled, the wires being accommodated in axially extending grooves 15 formed in the walls of cylindrical cavity parts 6 and 7.

The plunger 13 carries a permanent magnet 16 on the end below the disc 11 while the end above the disc is provided with a circular plate 17 of conductive material, fitted somewhat loosely on the plunger and retained thereon by the upset head 18 on the end of the plunger (or equivalent means, such as a cotter pin or nut), the plate 17 being urged away from the disc 11 by the spring 19.

The disc 11, with the terminals 12, plunger 13, wires 14, magnet 16, plate 17 and spring 19 assembled thereon as described above, is positioned with its periphery on the shoulder 10, the magnet in the cavity 9 and the wires in their grooves 15, and is held firmly in place by the cover or plug 20. The main body of the plug 20 is cylindrical and fills completely the outer cavity part 6 with its lower edge resting on the shoulder 8. A skirt 21 depends from the bottom of the plug 20 to a distance sufficient to bear against the upper edge of the disc 11, the skirt being provided with a tapered locking ridge 22, adapted to fit snugly in complementary annular groove 23 formed in the wall of the cavity part 7. The skirt 21 is cut away, as indicated at 24, to accommodate the wires 14, and the ridge 22 may be continuous or discontinuous.

The annular groove 5 is dimensioned to be snapped into engagement with the edge of a hole in any desired part of the toy figure.

In the modified form illustrated in FIG. 3 the switch shell is divided internally into compartments, the upper one 25 containing a conductive plate 26 loosely mounted on the end of the plunger 27 and urged by the spring 28 out of contact with the terminal 29. The wires 30 pass through holes in the upper wall 31 and in the intennediate wall 32 into the middle compartment 33 where they are connected to the terminals. The plunger 27 passes through the wall 32 and another wall 34 into the lower compartment 35 where the permanent magnet 36 is fixed on the lower end of the plunger. The shell, in this instance, may be molded in matching halves and cemented together along the line 37 (or in the plane of the drawing) after the internal parts have been put in place. The annular groove 38 near the base of the shell permits securement in a wall of a toy figure as in the case of the form shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The loose mounting of the plates 17 and 26 on their respective plungers ensures their contacting both terminals, to close the circuit, when moved toward the contacts by the movement of the magnet toward the base of the switch. The provision of two fixed terminals contacted by a movable plate is considered desirable, but these elements could, if desired, be reversed with terminals carried on a plate of insulating material on the end of the plunger and movable toward and away from a conductive disc replacing the non-conductive disc 11, for instance, or the plate could serve as one terminal.

It will be understood that the switch shells are intended to be of suitable plastic material while the plunger magnet and electric circuit elements are naturally metallic.

In use, the switch may be installed in any desired part of the toy figure, particularly in the head or in the body. If such a switch is to be substituted for the mouth switch of Patent No 3,136,089, cited above, the mouth would have no opening and the base of the switch would be fastened, as by cementing, to the inside of the head im mediately in back of the mouth so that it could be actu-' ated by bringing to the vicinity of the mouth a spoon or bottle which includes a mass of ferromatic material. The switch may also be installed in a doll body, for instance in the seat area, to be actuated by placing the doll in a sitting position on a support provided with an adequate mass of ferromagnetic material. In any installation, the motor which is turned on by the switch may cause the figure to move and/ or make sounds as determined by the type of mechanism driven by the motor. More than one switch may be included in a single figure and connected in series or in parallel to one or more motors and/or to one or more switches of other or conventional types.

It will be understod that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and hence we do not intend to be limited to the details shown or described herein except as the same are included in the claims or may be required by disclosures of the prior art.

What we claim is:

1. A switch of the type in which an electric circuit is normally open between two spaced terminals, characterized by the provision of a shell having a substantially flat base surface and being substantially circular in horizontal section, the shell being provided with two axially disposed compartments the lower of which is defined downwardly by a thin wall adjacent the flat base surface, the compartments being separated by a disc constituting a partition disposed substantially parallel to the base surface and provided with a bore extending between the compartments, a plunger slidably supported in said bore, a pair of terminals at least one of which is fixed to the partition and located in the upper compartment, a conductive element in said upper compartment and mounted adjacent the upper end of the plunger said element being adapted to close the electric circuit upon contacting said terminal, biasing means urging said element out of contact with said terminal, and a permanent magnet in said lower compartment and mounted adjacent the lower end of the plunger, the upper compartment being formed within the lower portion of a plug and said plug acting to hold said disc in place.

2. A switch according to claim 1 in which the magnet is polarized and is disposed with its polar axis lying substantially in the direction in which it is movable.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,779,833 1/ 1957 Farison.

3,226,508 12/1965 Morgan et al. 335131 2,767,278 10/1956 Collins 335206 3,251,960 5/1966 Petterson 335206 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner R. N. ENVALL, IR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 200--l68 

